A Welcomed Return
by butIdoLOVEyoU
Summary: The fierce scowl on his lush and pink lips was at odds with the wickedness that danced in his midnight eyes. Eyes, she noted, that were framed by the thickest and darkest eyelashes she'd seen on a man, and did little to detract the fierce power that engulfed his aura. -NEW VERSION IN TWO CHAPTERS-
1. Part I: Pretend To See What I See

**Disclaimer: **I am not Kishimoto Masashi, thus, I am not the rightful owner of Naruto.

ξ

**A/N**: This is my first fanfic. However, enclosed you will find an edited (new) version of the story. While I believe that there's still room to improve the quality of this work, I'm afraid this is all I can do to salve the story I slowly grew to dislike, lol. For those of you who read the original, you will find that the story still follows Sasuke's return to Sakura. Much of what I've changed are reactions, dialogue, and...setting? Overall, this version has approximately 8,000 more words.

For the original (and very crappy story) visit: love-solstice . livejournal . com. Send in a request to join and please remember to validate your email.

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**ЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖ**

**A Welcomed Return**

「butIdoLOVEyoU」

**ЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖ**

**ЖЖЖЖЖЖЖ**

Part I

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An echo, a figment of sound fluttered in the distance, beckoning Sakura, daring her to move and follow the sound elsewhere.

Perched atop what remained of an ice float, she was unable to take those precarious steps to move her forward. Her feet were bound to the cold slob of ice. Glued forcibly by invincible shackles that forbade her from running. While she did not want to run, she did not want the glaring darkness to shame her any more than she already was. Her shame coursed like molten lava through her veins. A daunting, and constant reminder of the weak and worthless Shinobi she once was.

_Don't get ahead of yourself. You're still weak._

Unable to refute the sinister voice, which usually lay dormant in the dark recesses of her mind, Sakura gazed into the horizon. She gazed through unseeing eyes, the darkness thick and oppressive.

Unlike the beginning, she no longer fought the cold, sharp fingernails that raked against every inch of visible skin. She no longer shut out the voices that condemned her weak and helpless character. She no longer turned away from the images that hovered out of reach, and repeatedly shred her heart apart.

She was far from the world, wretched as it was in her eyes.

In here, in this void, she didn't have to pretend to feel. She was numb. Her gay emotions swept away with the departure of her loved ones. She did not have to pretend to progress with time. No, her conscious was still stuck six years back. Every night, and with accurate precession, she relived the horrid ordeal of her heart shattering into millions of tiny pieces. And every night, she wedged those pieces deeper into the dirt, hoping to never gaze at those memories again. But the attempts were futile.

Bowing her head in surrender, Sakura waited for a shimmering gray light to pierce through the darkness. Stranded as she was, she accepted her fate atop the cold wedge of ice, the coldness searing the soles of her feet.

_Lost. So lost, _the phantom of her tortured soul whispered.

Sakura watched as it materialized to the left of her. A small luminous light, glimmering from within the soul, filtered through the darkness. Her world become gray and distorted. Restlessly, Sakura watched as her soul glided in and out of the darkness. Always leaving bloodied foot prints in its wake.

Turning her head to the left, she ignored the phantom of her own soul. Often times, when she skimmed her hollowed eyes past the expanse of her soul's wrist, to catch sight of the blood that dribbled down the shimmering skin, she loathed to think that even in the afterlife, she'd found no paradise. So tortured and tormented was her soul that the ceaseless voyage abraded the soles of her feet, leaving behind puddles of blood when she hovered in one spot for too long.

Sakura counted to ten—endless as those small numbers were in this world—knowing that the phantom of her soul would leave if ignored.

While she'd come to grips with her attempted suicide—the kunai still deeply embedded in her soul's wrist—she had yet to acknowledge that her soul was condemned to an endless journey of solitude. The first time she'd stared into the reflection of her own green eyes, in the body of a transparent being, she'd been too startled and afraid to recognize the haggard face as her own.

The phantom had reached towards her with shaky cold fingers, but in her fright she'd yelled for it to leave her alone. Ever since, it ghosted around her, ignoring her imprisoned state. In the same litany the phantom chanted about being alone. When it didn't, it complained about the cold.

_Cold. So cold. _

Baiting her breath, Sakura knew it would be a matter of minutes before a familiar set of faces peeked in from behind the darkness. And always, she welcomed the sight of those faces.

Running her hands down the front of her shirt, she wiped them free of the nervous sweat. She cleared her throat, all the while knowing that the sound of her voice never carried over the darkness. She also attempted to run a hand through her hair, but the little movements she was afforded did not permit such a feat.

Straining her neck, she hoped with all her might to catch sight of Sasuke as he waltzed into her line of vision.

_Beautiful, always so beautiful. _This time, Sakura ignored her twelve year old self, prancing about in the shadows.

So attune was she with this lucid dream world, that she knew at what intervals to turn her head from distasteful appearances. Yet, she was never allowed to look behind her, and into her past. Even now, as the seconds morphed into minutes, and the minutes turned into hours, the darkness she desperately peered through shielded her from the future. Though, without a doubt, Sakura knew that sorrow was her only companion down the winding roads of unhappy endings.

Her first and (possibly) last love had walked out of her life without as much as a backward glance.

Her parents had been robbed of their lives. Their cold and lifeless bodies left as boneless heaps in the outskirts of Konoha's forest.

The gods were thoroughly wicked with her that they he mocked her from within her dreams. Repeatedly, they showed her the 'could have been' of her life, taunting her with the different results.

_If only you'd been prettier_

_If only you'd paid as much attention to your parents as you did Sasuke. _

_If only you'd been stronger._

_If only you'd die—_

A knock reverberated through her mind. Startled by the force of it, Sakura blindly stumbled in the darkness for her footing.

ξ

Tumbling, Sakura awoke in a cold sweat, her heart thundering in her chest. A dull ache fluttered there.

Glancing at the alarm clock, she ignored the pain, and noticed that it read 2:15 am.

_Hardly visiting hours_.

Although she'd been awoken before she reunited with Sasuke and her parents, and although any other night she welcomed the reprieve of her dreams, on this night, she was thankful for whoever stood past the threshold. No matter how much she longed to see her loved ones in her dreams, they too were phantoms. Dreaming about them always left her with a depression that muddled her resolve to stay strong. When her resolve was weak and the depression radiated through her once vibrant green eyes, others looked and treated her like a homicidal escapist.

_Suicidal, _her innerself corrected._  
_

Sakura sneered. While she'd been stupid to attempt to commit suicide six years ago, she no longer nursed the idea. She'd been selfish to think that no one would miss her. She'd been ignorant of Naruto's love for her and her sensei's concern. But she was smarter for that decision now. No matter how strongly the image of Sasuke leaving Konoha twisted her heart, and no matter how alone she'd been after her parent's death, those dreadful thoughts that flowed freely behind her mind's eyes, failed to convince her of the luster of death.

Long ago, she decided to value herself. And while she may not have a companion at her side, she would see to it that she grew old and weathered with old age.

Sakura had Naruto to thank for her decision to live. If he hadn't pulled her bleeding and limp form from her apartment and rushed her to Tsunade's office, she wouldn't be able to engage in meaningless banter with him.

When a second knock resounded through her tiny apartment, Sakura quickly jumped out of bed. She stalked towards her closet and as she discarded the sweat soaked shirt she wore, she pulled out a fresh one to change into. Quickly, she marched in the direction of the mirror propped up against the wall across the room. Furiously, she rubbed the remains of sleep from her eyes. Inspecting the side of her mouth, she wiped away traces of drool.

_Nasty sleeping habit._ She thought darkly as she spun on her heels and marched for the front door. It didn't take her more than twenty strides before she was out of her room and in front of the door.

After her parents passed away, she'd been forced to move from the luxury of her home and into this tiny and shabby apartment. She could barely fit three grown men into her makeshift living room. All the money she'd received from selling the house—furniture and all—she'd put away in savings. One way or another she had to provide for herself, and living in that big house with the constant reminder of the warmth she lacked was no way to live. Though, no matter where she lived, the warmth she once felt never followed.

Another knock.

Irritated that her unwelcome guest—it could be Lady Tsunade for all she cared—was ruining the relationship she'd fostered over the years with her neighbors by banging loudly on her front door, she yanked the door open without an ounce of remorse for the poor hinges. She'd been prepared to give the meanest and harshest tongue lashing to the person on the other side, but all intent froze in her throat when she noticed who the person was.

With eyes as wide as saucers, Sakura stared up and up at the temptation—er—man, towering over her small frame. Give or take he had to be somewhere between five-ten and six-feet.

_Five-eleven and a half? _

The man, though; wasn't just tall; he was muscled without the ridiculous bulge of a heavyweight body builder. Corded muscles wrapped around a lean and elegant figure. The fierce scowl on his lush and pink lips was at odds with the wickedness that danced in his midnight eyes. Eyes, she noted, that were framed by the thickest and darkest eyelashes she'd seen on a man, and did little to detract the fierce power that engulfed his aura. His skin looked as if it had been dipped in the finest porcelain, an exotic contrast against dark menacing brows.

Unable to tear her eyes away from the beautiful face, Sakura was helpless to note that the man had a perfectly shaped nose, sharp cheekbones, and a stubborn jaw. If he wasn't Sin, her name wasn't Sakura Haruno. And if he uttered a word in that deep and raspy and just roused from bed voice she so wanted to hear, he'd send her down on her knees without a fight.

Nervously licking her lips, Sakura took a step forward. With shaky hands she traced a finger down his stubble jaw.

Before the urge to launch herself into his strong arms, and never let go, bleed into her system, she snatched back her hand. Without a second thought she stumbled backwards. Everything inside her froze as the man across from her glared at her in the same fashion he'd done so as a kid. But it did not deter her from closing the door on him.

Sasuke Uchiha stood on the other side of her door.

"It can't be," she breathed into the stillness of her apartment.

Although she recognized the boyish face peering at her through the hard and chiseled face of an adult, there was no way that Sasuke Uchiha stood on the other side of her door. She had to be dreaming.

She—

That's it! She was still asleep. For the first time in years, the strict formula by which her dreams operated had relented and allowed Sasuke to greet her in a far different fashion.

_Yes. That's it. It couldn't be any other way. _

Just as soon as she crawled back in bed, phantom Sasuke would magically teleport his irresistible self, right beside her. And if in the process of lying side by side with her, he wanted to do those wicked things she'd seen in his eyes, she wouldn't dissuade him otherwise.

Closing her eyes, Sakura picture her small twin bed. She hoped Sasuke didn't mind her cluttered room, or crowding on top of her. The bed was really too small for the both of them.

_Ah, maybe I can try laying my head on his chest. _A secret fantasy of hers.

Her mind ran rampant at the possibility of her sandwiched with Sasuke on her small bed. Perhaps, the inadequate size was finally of use to her.

Smiling, Sakura was startled out of her self-induced trance when the banging on her front door resumed. This time accompanied by a very angry growl.

_Oh ho! So maybe this isn't a dream. This actually does seem real. _

With her heart thundering in her chest, Sakura cast a quick glance at her hands and decided to pinch herself. The pain barely registered as her ears strained to hear the imperceptible mumbling behind her door.

_Is he—?_

_No, this isn't Sasuke,_ Sakura decided as she yanked the door open before Sasuke—err—the Sasuke impersonator finished casting a fire jutsu. "Go ahead. I _dare_ you." She glared at the imposter. "And I'll make sure you roast with my door as well."

She found it incredulous that the imposter gave her an exasperated look.

"Just what the hell do you think you are doing?" Growling low in her throat, Sakura took up her no-nonsense stance. With legs splayed open on either side of her, and fists firmly placed on her hips, she glared at the idiot in the illusion jutsu. Two in the morning or not, she would make this insensitive jerk howl in pain tonight, because this obviously wasn't Sasuke. He had yet to return to Konoha, and even if he did Sakura was convinced he didn't want to see her.

_As if, _she mentally scoffed.

"I'll give you to ten to stop pretending to be—"

Her voice caught in her throat when she was pushed into the entryway of her apartment, the imposter following close behind her. So close, she could feel the warmth radiating off his skin, and taste the mint in his breath.

Squashing the fluttering wings of panic, Sakura stood her ground.

If this was Naruto, kneeing him in the groin would distract him from breaking the jutsu. But Naruto wasn't cruel. And even if there was a small chance he decided to play a harmless trick on her by impersonating Sasuke, he hasn't mastered illusion spells to wield Sasuke's sharinga, much less to glare at her.

Face scrunching up in anger, Sakura resisted the urge to haul disrespectful comments at her Sensei. It had to be Kakashi!

"Se—"

Without warning, lush yet firm and warm lips pressed against hers. Her mind reeled as the imposter framed her face in his hands and angled her head in what seemed to be the perfect angle. His teeth softly bit her bottom lip, urging her to open her mouth as he sucked and tugged the dull ache away. All it took was a single flick of his tongue against the roof of her mouth and she opened wide for his plundering tongue. He thrust it deep, the sweeping motions mimicking the rhythmic motion of primal sex.

Tunneling rough fingers into her hair, he eased a hand to the back of her head. Tugging on the hair there, he urged her to allow him deeper contact, to let him brand his minty taste and earthly fragrance into her being. Again and again his tongue danced against hers. He suckled her into his mouth, urging her to taste him as he did her, to take and conquer all that he offered.

Swept along by his drugging and urgent kiss, Sakura pressed herself against the solid wall of his muscled chest. If only for a moment, she wanted to pretend it was Sasuke who kissed her.

For a small second she thought it was Kakashi playing a trick on her, like he'd done all those years ago, but her sensei did not go around kissing his students.

_No, not Kakashi-sensei. _

But Sakura knew of another sensei that flirted with her with reckless abandon.

Sai: former member of Team 7, and an insensitive prick. Socially challenged, and deranged if anyone asked about his mental health. He was also the only man mean enough to disguise himself as Sasuke. All so that he could win her heart in his quest of wooing her.

_A quest_, Sakura mused, _I want no part of. _

Yet, no matter how ruthlessly she refused his advances, he wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. Just last week, he'd gotten her drunk and forced a kiss on her. Fortunately, she'd been strong enough to resist him the entire time. Out of courtesy, she'd left deep welts from where her nails scratched against the side of his face, as future reminder to not mess with her again.

Now, however; she didn't fight her senses when they urged her to wrap her arms around his neck. He hadn't tasted this good last week. The more she dueled with his tongue, the more she discovered that he tasted like dark chocolate, dark and minty chocolate which made her head heady and caused her to moan.

He swallowed her throaty moan and peeling his lips away from hers, ghosted them up the side of her jaw. She didn't fight him when one of his hands glided down her back and pressed her as humanly possible to his pulsing erection.

Reaching her earlobe, he tugged lightly with his teeth, before he breathed something into her ear. Sakura didn't know what he said; she only felt his lips brush against her ear. She loathed thinking that he was confessing to her.

Perhaps, she was being cruel by allowing him to kiss her in such a manner, but even if he kissed her an inch away from stupid, she couldn't fool her feelings. And she wasn't going to have a casual fling with him to appease his interests. After all, sex was only a matter of research for Sai. The fool was on a quest to find the most compatible body. Seeing how he'd run through nearly every women in the village (fortunately he wasn't preying on underage girls), Sakura was beginning to think that what Sai needed wasn't a compatible women, but a man. If not, he was another screw up, just like her, who couldn't love.

Sighing, Sakura attempted to extricate herself from Sai's embrace. She found that the task was considerably tough when her body protested against the need to feel him further.

Scandalized that he wrapped a strong and deliciously warm hand around her breast, she yelled at him to let go of her.

"Stop! Or I will seriously loop it off." She threatened him when she angled her hips away.

He smirked at. And Sakura pretended it wasn't Sasuke's face she was gazing at. If she didn't pretend, if Sai didn't break his illusion, she'd allow him to have his way with her. All so she could have one night with Sasuke. Even if he wasn't the one standing before her.

"You'll have to reach into my pants for such a task." His guttural voice made her nipples harden. Sakura swallowed against the sudden dryness in her mouth.

"Sai, how many times must I—"

Before her words were out of her mouth, she was roughly pushed into the wall behind her. Horrified at his sudden change in attitude, Sakura stared at him with shock written all over her face. Even though she wasn't scared of Sai, seeing him use Sasuke's angry face chilled her bones. She began to open her mouth to apologize, when his fist, tearing through cheap plaster, silenced her.

"Is that why you shut me out?" He sounded wounded, and Sakura wished she could ease the pain away, but that would require something of her she had locked away, all those years ago when Sasuke left.

"How long have the both of you been making a fool of me?" The hurt mixed in with raw anger. It strained against his face.

Sakura wondered, if Sasuke had grown up to be this handsome, would his face contort in the same way, with lines of tension bracketing his eyes as he drilled all of his anger into her eyes.

Sakura swallowed against the knot that formed in her throat. "I don't know what you mean by 'the both of you'. If it's another one of your cheap tricks it's not working. Now get out of my apartment!"

Sakura hadn't meant to yell at him, mostly because she didn't want to scream at the face in Sasuke's likeness, but she had enough of Sai's harassment. If she didn't stop him now, he'd come back tomorrow with another lame trick to win her heart. Did he not get it? She was not giving her heart away to another, all so she could forget the pain. Call her a masochist, but the thought of being with someone who wasn't Sasuke ripped her insides to shreds.

The fact that he stood before her, pretending to be someone he wasn't wounded her enough.

When all he did was glare down at her, Sakura slammed a hand into his chest. She was mortified to know that the action hurt her hand more than it did his chest.

_Goddamn it! _She growled and returned his glare.

"I said to get out! Get the hell out of my apartment and never come back! You can impersonate Kami himself, for all I care, and I still won't date you! Get it through your thick skull, Sai. No amount of gifts, dates, or impersonating Sasuke will change my mind. I _don't_ want you. So drop the illusion. I never gave you false hopes, and I think you've proven just how inhuman you are." Winded from yelling at him with unmasked frustration, she watched a muscle leap in his jaw.

_If he wants to duke it out I'm game, _she thought darkly as she gnashed her teeth in anger. _I'll pound you so hard into the ground you'll regret laying your eyes on me._ She may be a wreck on the inside, but at least she wasn't physically inert.

Sai circled a hand around her upper arm and hauled her a breath away from his—Sasuke's—face. Determined to smack the illusion from his face, she brought up her hand to strike him (not before asking for Sasuke's forgiveness). But he was swift. In a blur of superhuman speed, he knocked her hand out of the air, and forcing it behind her back he dragged her across his front. His (fake) Sharinga swirled with fury.

For a split second Sakura pondered just how safe she was in her home, with Sai's anger chocking her like a noose tied about a condemned man's neck.

Trashing in his hold she warned him. "Try anymore and not only will I castrate you, I'll feed you your own organs. And you know I will do it."

When the trashing made her head spin, Sakura stilled to glare at him. She opened her mouth to speak, but his ominous voice sliced through her heart.

"What has _he_ done to you?" He demanded. The harsh madness in his voice made her shiver. The cold glint in his eyes told her this wasn't who she thought it was.

"Y-Y-You aren't S-Sai. Are you?"

The imposter shook his head.

"N-Naruto?"

Again, no.

"K-Kakashi?"

With each shake, the scowl on his face deepened. He even growled his disapproval each time she questioned his identity.

Sakura heard the brakes in her head, loud and clear. Suddenly, she didn't feel safe in her own home. She didn't know who this stranger was, but her instincts told her this wasn't a friendly trick (Or Sai being a prick). Whoever this man was, he meant to—

Sakura fought against the memory of pressing against his hard-on.

_No, he wouldn't!_

_Yes, he will, _her conscious taunted, knowing that the wickedness she'd interpreted in his eyes earlier meant what she feared.

She fought against the rising panic. _Calm Sakura. Keep your calm_.

If she wanted to outwit this guy she had to keep her cool. As it was, he blocked her only exit with his tall and powerful build.

It then occurred to her that it could be a girl for all she knew. Though, she couldn't recall giving anyone a reason to do such a cruel thing.

He shook her hard. "Answer me, Sakura."

Jared from her thoughts, Sakura pasted a placating smile on her face. "Well, can you at least tell me who you are?" Maybe if she acted soft and feminine, he'd ease his grip on her.

Shock permeated his features. "What do you mean who am I? Can't you tell it's me?" He gazed at her strangely and Sakura had to restrain herself from challenging his stare. It was obvious that _he _was the crazy one for pretending, and as it looked, being too absorbed in impersonating Sasuke.

_Well shucks_, she thought, _it is one thing if this is a cruel joke, but another if this crazy thinks he's _actually_ Sasuke. _

Her brows furrowed. "Uhm…I know you're not Sasuke. So I'd be very grateful if you dropped the illusion. I-I don't mind talking to you in your original form."

_Darn it Sakura, do not show him fear. _She chided herself for stuttering.

When he released one of her arms, turned her head this way and that, Sakura had to wonder what he was doing. Briefly, he skimmed his fingers though her hair, lightly massaging her scalp.

"Something happened to you. Didn't it?" She heard him faintly whisper into the still air, as though he were afraid of his own voice.

_Is he…checking for an injury? _

Sakura suppressed a groan.

_This is rich,_ she thought consternated. _A complete stranger walks into my home, pretends to be Sasuke, kisses me, and looks at me as if I'm crazy because I won't play along. Oh, this is just splendid. _

It then occurred to her that she indeed was stupid. She was a master Genjutsu specialist. If the imposter didn't want to release the spell, she could forcefully break it; she'd been first in her class at this sort of thing.

Succumbing to the foul names she avalanched at herself, Sakura disengaged her body and mind from the temporary reality. Although she hated to think of such things, thinking of the ache she endured after Sasuke left, and coupling it with the agony she lived after her parent's murder, always produced the right amount of pain to disrupt her chakra.

Closing her eyes, she allowed each memory to pin prick her heart. She didn't care that she risked a nervous breakdown, no, there'd be time to recuperate from that later. Now, she needed to know who gave her false hopes, so she could put an end to him.

Opening her eyes once more, Sakura gazed at Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome.

_No! This isn't right! If only—_

Sakura looked around. She needed a weapon, something—anything—to pierce into her flesh. If she could dig deep enough, she could awaken from this illusion—_from this dream_—because, no matter how she looked at it, this person was not Sasuke. She couldn't (wouldn't) accept it was Sasuke! She had yet to prepare her heart to greet him once more.

"Sakura?"

She flinched when he lifted a hand to her cheek and watched as a flash of hurt skittered in his eyes.

_Odd, _she thought as she rapidly blinked against the moisture that collected in her eyes. She looked up at the man she'd mistaken for an imposter, unsure of what to do.

_Could this really be him? _

_But why would he come here? _

_Why did he—_

Nervously, and unwilling to trust that he, that _Sasuke_ kissed her, Sakura licked her lips. Mentally, she barricaded her heart in a small dark room, to squash and prevent the hope that blossomed there._ He's probably been without a woman for a long time, _she thought, justifying the kiss.

Since he'd always been good at reading her, she bowed her head, shielding her gaze from his.

She didn't trust her voice to speak to him any longer. Even if she wanted to ask if it was truly him, she didn't think she could handle the sense of loss if he suddenly morphed into a being she did not recognize.

"Sakura, look at me."

She resisted the hand that gripped her jaw.

"Something's happened. Hasn't it?" The urgency in his voice was like a sharp-edged knife picking the master lock placed at her heart's door. "Was it Naruto? Kakashi? Did they hurt you?"

"No!" She looked at him wide-eyed, and was even more surprised to see that the smoldering anger in his gaze had diminished to worry.

ξ

_A foreign emotion on a stranger's face, _the sinister voice rose from within, reminding Sakura that even if this was Sasuke, she no longer knew this man.

"Sakura," he prompted as he gripped her jaw once more, forcing her to look at him when she nervously looked away.

"They would never hurt me like—," She broke off, chocking on her own words.

Having caught her meaning, his hands drifted from her face.

Pushing against his chest, Sakura stumbled backwards out of his embrace. She nearly tripped over her own two feet, but he was there to quickly settle her on her feet again. Once more pulling her arms from his scalding hands, she retreated from the entryway and backtracked into her tiny living room. Afraid that he would vanish, and yet not fully convinced it was truly him, she kept her eyes locked on his face.

A kaleidoscope of emotions passed before his face and she had to wonder that if this was truly him standing before her, perhaps, the concern and sorrow that lined his face was the real illusion. Maybe he really was here, in this room with her, pretending to hold her tenderly, pretending that the flash of hurt in his eyes was a result of her…rejection?

_No! _

Powerless to stop herself, she took a step towards him, hands outstretched to welcome him into her arms, but she caught herself. Spinning around, she paced in front of the dingy grey and pink couch that with its back facing the small kitchen area separated her makeshift living room from the kitchen.

She could practically hear her inner demon crackle in delight. Most likely, laughing at her indecision to trust her eyes.

Turning slightly to look at him, she caught sight of Sasuke blankly staring at the space she once occupied. Something akin to fury blazed in his eyes, causing his eyebrows to crinkle and his nose to flare.

In frustration, she watched him rake a hand though his midnight hair, longer than she remembered last. She opened her mouth to speak, to prevent his fingers from causing damage to the inside of his palms, but…there was so much she wanted to say. Where should she begin?

She hardly understood why he was here. She could hardly _accept_ that he really was here.

_To what end would someone impersonate him? _The rational side of her spoke up, who left her alone all those moments ago when she opened the front door.

What had given her the impression that the Sasuke before her was an illusion?

Why was she so unwilling to believe her eyes?

_Fear. _

Sakura had always believed that one day Sasuke would return, and for the last six years, she awaited his return with bated breath, because no matter how dearly she wanted to see him again, a part of her was terrified. While she had loved him with all of her heart, not once had he returned an ounce of her affection, and she feared that the same could be said about the future. She feared that after years of patiently waiting for him—or impatiently if one was to count the time she too almost left Konoha to search for him—he would still consider her a weak and annoying shinobi.

She feared that having him so close and yet so far away would break her spirit.

But she couldn't pretend anymore. Could she?

This was Sasuke. No one other than him looked at her with annoyance.

Staring at Sasuke for long minutes Sakura wondered what to do next. The frightened girl of her past demanded that she run away and hides, to stall the heartbreak that would come next, but she simply wasn't that girl anymore. After six years, she wasn't sure that hiding was something she wanted to do. She'd been at a standstill for so long, it was time she moved on. Always she had hoped that it would be with Sasuke, but…

Clearing her throat she asked, "Why are you here?" Although her voice trembled she pasted a smile on her lips, sad as it was.

_You have to get it together Sakura. Stay rational and keep it cool! The fact that he's never loved you has always been news to you. _She encouraged herself.

Sasuke opened his mouth to speak. He closed it. He then looked at her, and away again.

Sakura held her breath. _Of course! It's practically a duty for him to come see an ex-teammate. _

_And kiss you too,_ that sarcastic voice remarked.

Swallowing against the nails logged in her throat and blinking against the volcano that threatened to erupt behind her eyes, she fully turned to him. "When did you return? Do the others know?"

Still looking away, he shook his head no. He made no effort to answer her first question.

_One. Two. Three,_ she heard her timer count off, not knowing how long she'd be able to smile at him. If only she could drown her feelings for him, maybe she would be able to look at him without feeling the need to breakdown. She knew that tears didn't bring out the gentleness in him, so she couldn't afford to cry or he would hate her for it—if he didn't despise already her for being so clingy in the past.

"Well then, what are you doing here?" She broadened her grin. "Shouldn't you be with Naruto?"

Again, he looked at her and glanced away. _Does he doubt—oh! _

A sense of shame coursed through her veins. Somewhere deep inside she'd interpreted his peculiar display of emotions for her, but the anger and confusion she'd seen in his eyes was a result of his doubt. He didn't think he'd be welcomed.

_How stupid of me. _

Taking a calming breath she said, "Sasuke, he misses you and so does Kakashi-sensei. Everyone's been waiting for your return."

His gaze quickly lifted from staring at a spot on the wall. He turned to glare at her and his jaw clenched stubbornly. "Have _you_ been waiting for me?"

At a loss for words she licked her lips.

When Sasuke walked into the living room, to stand but a hair away from her, Sakura tried her hardest to not flinch away from the proximity. His chest and firm thighs brushed against her person. Because he towered over her, she had to tilt her head to look up at him. The uneasiness she'd seen in his eyes was replaced by the smoldering anger she'd encountered earlier.

Licking her lips once more, she wedged a hand between their bodies. Ignoring the hard plane of his chest, and the missiles of sensation the touch shot through her being, she slightly pushed him backwards, but he'd planted his feet so firmly on the ground, that she had trouble nudging him a millimeter away from her.

"I think—," With those two words alone, she was startled to see his onyx eyes turn a fierce shade of red. Gulping, she attempted to take a step back, but remembered the couch was right behind her. Least she wanted to make a fool of herself by flopping unceremoniously into it; she needed to stand her ground. "I think you should have a seat."

Quickly grabbing onto one of her wrists, he prevented her hand from leaving his chest.

"I asked you a question, Sakura." He used one of his large hands to grab her face, forcing her head further back so he could bore his gaze into hers. The feral way in which he said her name sent shivers down her back.

_Just what is going on! Why is he behaving so strangely?_ Sakura was beginning to panic again. She didn't think that panicking would be a good idea when she was so close to breaking down.

Furtively, she glanced around, not having the slightest idea how to deal with Sasuke's sudden and aggressive behavior. Judging by his look alone, it seemed he wanted to shred her to pieces and pick his teeth with whatever was left of her, which wouldn't be much if he continued to rattle her nerves with his odd behavior. Before he had the chance to sink his teeth into her and rip, she would crumble under the weight of her uneasiness. The wild anger in his eyes, made everything inside of her squeeze tight in fear.

She blinked up at him, and thought the expression on his face softened.

"Of course I waited," she answered him, finding the task a bit difficult due to his grip on her jaw. She had to blink back tears as she pushed his hand away. Instead of leaving it at his side, he circled his hand around the base of her throat, his palm brushing against her collarbone. When she opened her mouth to speak, he silenced her with a glare.

"Then why did you mistake me for Sai?"

"What?! Ah, Oh!" Again she glanced around. "I, ah, I—you know!" She fished out lamely, not knowing how to explain her lack of trust in the current situation.

"I _don't_ know. Or I wouldn't have asked." He practically growled in her face.

Sakura kept her mouth shut. _Why are you even asking!? What does it matter?! _

She found that she wanted to yell at him, rally against him. She wanted to breakdown and cry with joy that Sasuke had returned, and at the same time she wanted to cry at the absurdity of this reunion. Not once had she thought their next encounter would entail a fairy tale reunion, but she hadn't though—expected him to breathe fire down her face the next time he saw her.

_Maybe this love isn't meant to be had. _As if her heart wasn't already broken, she felt another piece chip away.

"Sakura—,"

"I was in shook," she blurted out. "I couldn't believe my eyes so…I thought I was dreaming. I, ah, it's the middle of the night and I was asleep so…I mean…it's hard to believe that you'd want to see me."

"You thought I didn't want to see you?" No matter how she interpreted his tone, he sounded thoroughly insulted.

"I'm annoying, remember?" His eyebrows furrowed, but he said nothing. Sakura grinned at him again, mostly, because it kept her from crying her eyes out. "It actually comes as a surprise that you came to me first and not Naruto or Kakashi-sensei."

He didn't try to justify his reason, and Sakura kept her imagination on a short leash. On one hand, she was taunted by the possibility that he wanted to see her first before anyone else. Perhaps he had missed her above everyone else. Perhaps, masked underneath a fierce warrior's face, he was brimming with uncontrollable love…for her.

_As if! _

On the other hand, she was reminded that to Sasuke, the order of his visit didn't particularly matter. Her home was probably closest, anyway. He probably wanted to be done with the annoying reunion first.

And just how did he find her home if he hadn't seen Naruto or Kakashi?

"Uh, Sasuke?"

He blinked and raised an eyebrow.

Hesitantly she asked, "How did you know where I live?"


	2. Part II: Unrecognizable to Myself

**Disclaimer: **I am not Kishimoto Masashi, thus, I am not the rightful owner of Naruto.

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**ЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖ**

**A Welcomed Return**

「butIdoLOVEyoU」

**ЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖ**

**ЖЖЖЖЖЖЖ**

Part II

**ЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖЖ**

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Sasuke did not respond.

How could he tell her that for the last three days he had kept to the shadows, tracing her every steps? Watching and keeping tabs on her as he familiarized himself with her daily routine. That while he'd thought long and hard about not returning to Konoha, her tear stained face, lurking in his mind's eyes, prompted him to return with all the haste of the wind pushing on his back. That while he hadn't planned to stay, one look in her direction had robbed him of his senses.

Sakura had grown beautiful—too beautiful in his opinion.

She was like temptress. Full pink and kissable lips, bright green eyes shadowed by long eyelashes, short pink hair that to this day made him want to run his fingers through, creamy white skin that more than once he wanted to paint a sinful pattern across her skin with just the tip of his tongue.

Unlike her old attire, which fit like a red neon sign over a long flat board, her body had filled generously, accentuated nicely by a red top with the same design of her old dress, and a short pink skirt over short black tights. The skirt fashioned as it was, with splits along the front, back and sides, served to remind him just how easily he could slip his hands between the partings and fill his palms with the nice curve of her backside.

No longer was she the shy and indecisive girl he remembers from memories past. Now, she stood taller, chin held high as her chakra crackled around her like a protective shield from the eyes that stared at her lustfully. For each set of eyes that stared at her, Sasuke swore to come back and chew off their heads. In fact, he almost wished she hadn't blossomed so beautifully. God knows how much trouble she'd cause him if—

_No. I'm not making any sense, _Sasuke thought, realizing where his train of thoughts was headed.

Sakura had asked him a question and well…how could he tell her of all those idiotic and bubbly feelings that currently plagued him? Feelings, he had once flayed from his heart after his brother murdered his clan. Feelings, of which, she awoke in him shortly after becoming a member of Team 7, and he desperately tried to deny.

Not that he'd succeeded at ignoring those feelings. His only failure in life.

The less his feelings for her faded, the more annoyed he grew. The more time he spent away from her, the more restless he grew. Such knowledge and awareness of her maddened him beyond his senses. She reduced him to a contradicting fool, always shredding his stoic composure to pieces.

Knowing that he loved another made him feel fragile. It reminded him of his parents and the years of torment he'd endured while giving chase to his brother. But it was a feeling he couldn't contain any longer.

These feelings of love for her, even if he said otherwise, always reminded him that his revenge hadn't been entirely about avenging his clan, no; somewhere along the lines his thirst for revenge had morphed into a growing need to protect her. Without his realization, she'd become a vital part of his life. And while he'd pushed her away, denied how deeply she affected his senses, his heart yearned for her. Deep in his gut, he knew that if he returned her affection, those that wanted him dead, those that wanted to use him, would harm her, tear her from his arms.

He simply couldn't endure that a second time.

Most of his sanity had gone with Itachi after his brother murdered his parents. There'd be nothing left of him if something ever happened to her, because of him, because of his selfish desire to love and be loved.

At least, he'd thought that the desire to love another was selfish—sinful almost—until now.

He found that he was like a kid who just couldn't let go. Always dreaming of the possibilities of living a quiet and peaceful life beside the person he chose. That, of course, was his biggest annoyance. His heart had settled on Sakura and wouldn't budge. If he had to spend his life alongside someone, he'd have chosen someone more …practical. He'd have chosen someone who wouldn't hurt easily with his careless words, and would understand his lack of affection. He'd have chosen someone he wasn't capable of loving, and thus fear losing. With Sakura, he couldn't afford to be callous. She was bright and full of life. She was loving and giving, he simply couldn't crush the light out of her. But he couldn't be without her any longer. He knew that if he allowed her any deeper into his being, he'd be unable to part with her, even if she demanded such freedom from him.

Such thoughts made him uneasy. But no matter how much his brain tried to rationalize with his heart, he was past the point of thinking. All he wanted now was to feel something that wasn't hate and shame. All he truly wanted was her. Although he feared that this sudden determination was brought about as a result of killing Itachi, he couldn't ignore that gut-wrenching need that rushed through him after seeing her again.

However, the irony of the situation was that while she'd spent her time chasing after him and he'd brushed her off, now that he was the one pursuing her, she called another man's name.

Sasuke glared at Sakura. The annoyance clearly showed on his face.

This whole predicament was her fault, wasn't it? If she hadn't bewitched him, he wouldn't act so unlike himself. He'd have carried on with the weight of his shame, without hoping for a small ray of light in his dark and muddled world.

As if remembering he was more than annoyed with her, Sasuke placed a ferocious mask on his face. He knew he that his show of emotions wasn't making any sense to her, but he was too far gone to care anymore.

"You haven't answered my question!" He bit out harshly, nearly wincing at the force he used to yell at her, which, in turn, made him want to bash his head into a wall for having felt such a tender emotion. All the same, he knew that this method of being angry with her—or pretending to be angry just so he could sooth his ego—was his way of refusing to answer her question.

"I already told you that I was shocked!" While he'd seen her yell at Naruto so many times, he never would've thought she'd yell at him. It made lust stir in him knowing that she wasn't as fragile as he thought. She was fierce now; he could sense it in her chakra that pulsed hotly around her. She could withstand whatever he dished out, and the thought made him want her even more.

Sasuke took another step towards her, not that there was much room left between them. When Sakura attempted to shrink from his touch, he glared at her and the action stilled her.

"And what does Sai have to do with this shock of yours."

"I, ah," once more she looked around in that nervous habit of hers. "I thought he was playing a trick on me."

"Why?" He didn't blink once as he stared at her, searching for the truth. He didn't risk looking anywhere lower than her nose. If he remembered the taste of her, he wouldn't be able to control himself from lunging for her lips once more. When she opened the door for him and he saw her standing less than a foot away from him, he couldn't control the way in which he needed to hold her.

Sasuke watched Sakura timidly glance away. "I didn't trust it was you at the door." She whispered.

"No. Why if you thought I was Sai did you kiss me? Why would you cling and open yourself up to him?" This time, he did growl at her. He was one heartbeat away from desensitizing her lips of Sai's kiss, even if it hadn't been the other man kissing her.

Sasuke watched as a surge of annoyance blossomed on Sakura's face. "Shall I remind you that you were the one who kissed me?"

"And shall I remind you that you did not resist me?"

"I did resist you!" She told him as she roughly pushed on his chest to make her point. He, however, retained a firm grip on her throat.

"Not in the beginning you did."

Sakura looked incredulous. "In the beginning, as you say, you were the one who kissed me. Not the other way around."

"Well, if I kiss you a second time, and then a third and a fourth, would you resist me?" Sasuke was aware that the smoldering look in his eyes betrayed the look of anger on his face. When she roughly pushed against his chest again, he allowed her to escape him.

Shocked Sakura stared at him before turning on her heals and retreating further into her apartment. Sasuke did not miss the look of startled confusion on her face. He followed closely behind her. His fury at the thought of another man kissing her blinded him from his real purpose. He hadn't meant to argue with her, to upset her, but he hadn't expected to be mistaken for another man. He hadn't expected her to feel so emotionally detached with his return. Perhaps she'd lost interest in him, not that he could blame her. Six years had passed and not once had he promised to return for her when his quest was completed.

Sasuke ran a hand through his hair in frustration. _Coming here was a mistake._

For all he knew she could be committed to someone else.

The thought washed over him like acid, and although a part of him protested that she was his, he didn't think he had the right to fight for her. He'd been horrible to her in the past. He was still an insensitive jerk for thinking that she would wait for him, that she didn't have the right to fall in love with someone else.

Sasuke glared at her back. This is why he didn't want to fall in love. Such whimsical feelings weren't eternal. Humans easily discarded their love for one another. They grew tired of each other, look what happened with his family.

Closing his eyes, Sasuke stopped in his tracks. _If only I'd been honest with her from the very beginning. Even now, why can't I tell her that I need her? That there's a desperate need in me only she can fill? _

Sighing, he watched as she stepped into her bedroom and grabbed the doorknob. Before she closed the door behind her, to shun him, he spoke up. "Forget that I ever came. And…I'm sorry if I disturbed you. If possible don't tell—"

"Of course." Sakura quickly turned around to grin at him. "Thanks for stopping by. And…uhm…I'm sorry for the awkwardness. I—I guess I'm still annoying, right?"

As if heaven and hell spun on its axis, Sasuke felt himself slipping in the dizzying movement. His entire being was washed in the hottest fires of hell, before a gentle peace settled over his heart. _So simple and innocent, _he thought as he gazed at those unshed tears glisten in Sakura's eyes. _Lightening should just strike me where I stand. _

Taking a step towards her, Sasuke cursed his stubbornness, his unwillingness to be honest with her about a part of himself he'd kept from her. He also cursed himself for not having the guts to reach out for her and never let go.

He was a coward, he understood that.

While he had the determination to kill his own brother, he hadn't the galls to grab love with his own two hands. If he blamed it on his parent's murder, and his fear of losing another loved one, then he was making excuses for himself. This way of claiming to protect her by not telling her how much he loved her, was his way of hiding how weak he was, how little faith he had in himself about protecting someone with his own hands.

What shamed him most was the fact that because of the damage he'd done to her, she could not accept that he was in her home. She had to pretend to not be affected by his presence, and smile and talk to him as though they were accustomed to seeing each other on a regular basis, when in fact, she wanted to cry. He said he needed her, but instead of assuring her that it was him in the flesh, he was picking a fight with her, looking for even more excuses as to why he couldn't tell her what he felt for her.

_I'm annoying, remember? I guess I'm still annoying, right? _It was her secret way of reminding him that he hadn't loved her, of asking him if that was still the case.

How could he not see the way she wore her heart on her sleeves? Why was he so selfish to assume that he was the only one who desperately longed for her? After all, she'd been the one brave enough to tell him she loved him. She'd been the one to tell him she would wait for him, and if he didn't mistake that look in her eyes, she was still waiting, even if she didn't trust the reality of his presence.

_Damn it all! _Sasuke thought as he shrugged off what little remained of his ego and sent it crashing to the waves. If he listened to it any longer, he'd only drive an irrevocable wedge in a relationship he had yet to form with Sakura. He knew that if he ever wanted a moment to live, he had to start by accepting that he loved her.

_Just how stupid and insensitive can I be?_

When he took a second step towards her, Sakura took one back. He could sense her hesitation and he didn't blame her for it. Not once had he given her hope that anything could be between them. But now, he was intent on remedying that. He only hoped he hadn't lost his chance while he'd denied himself a chance to truly live.

"Don't run from me Sakura." He told her as he walked in her direction and she continued to shuffle backwards. She shook her head 'no' and before he could reach her, tears came streaming down her face. Lunging for her, Sasuke pulled her around the waist and into his arms.

"Please don't cry." He told her as he brushed the tears away from her face and felt his heart break at the face of his own cruelty. He felt her tense in his arm and all too soon she was fighting his embrace. With what little strength she had in her arms, she pushed against his chest, her hands forming into claws as she scratched him wherever possible.

Sasuke allowed her to rally against him, but not once did he contemplate letting go of her. Although he'd taken all the wrong turns to end up at this point, he'd waited so long to hold her. It was time he fought for her and laid his demons to rest. It was time he loved her as fiercely as she'd done so for the last few years.

Crushing her against his chest his arms wrapped protectively around her and cradling the back of her head, he murmured soothing words into her ears.

"Ssh. Don't cry. I won't leave. I'll stay here with you. So don't cry."

The cold fingers wrapped around his heart ebbed away, his heart sinking as her small frame shook against him and sobs wracked through her, rising in pitch the more fervently he whispered in her ear. Hesitantly, her arms circled around his back and her fingers clutched the back of his shirt. Her face pressed further into his chest as she hid her tears from view. She seemed to mumble something to herself as he reassured her that everything was alright.

He soothed a hand up and down her back. "I'll stay. If that's what you want, I'll always stay by your side." His lips pressed behind her ear, where the dizzying smell of lavender and sunshine was strongest. "But know that I'm going to love you because it's what I want to do."

Sakura hissed in a breath and attempted to reel from him, but he gripped her around the waist, his fingers digging into the soft flesh of her hips. The look of surprise in her wide, teary eyes as she looked up at him nearly blinded him from his purpose. When she opened her mouth to speak and a hiccup interrupted her, a fierce shade of pink illuminated her face. To hide her embarrassment, she used the insides of her wrist to wipe her tears, in the process shielding her face from view.

Sasuke thought it was the most adorable thing he'd ever seen. He was helpless against the smile that tugged at his lips.

Smiling at her, he lifted her face to his and rested his forehead against hers. That touch alone made her flinch and shrink into herself. Sasuke followed her movement until he nearly toppled over her and she had to grab his shoulders to keep from falling backwards on the floor. Again, she opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off.

"I know you've endured a lot because of me. I also know that I've betrayed your trust and if I could, I'd give anything to go back and fix things. I-I didn't want to hurt you. I—,"

"Why?" Sakura cut him off. "Why are you saying all of this to me?" A soft whine accompanied her voice as even more tears spilled from her eyes. "It's not making any sense. You left so long ago and now that you've returned I don't understand why you hold me like this. Or why you kiss me. If it's pity, I don't need it!"

Sasuke took a shuddering breath and closed his eyes. The little boy from his past peered up at him, with imploring eyes and bloodstained cheeks, in a silent plea asking him to never love again, to never hurt for loving someone. His heart was of stone, and only when he thought of Sakura did he feel the thundering rush of blood flow through his veins, awakening his dormant heart. If he didn't tell her how he felt, he'd forever remain of stone.

Swallowing against the lump that formed in his throat he reached for the courage to speak the truth.

"It's because I want you, more than I let on." Slowly opening his eyes to look at Sakura, he noted that even more tears rained down her face. Gently, he ran his thumbs down her cheeks, but the dam had broken and the tears continued to flow freely from her eyes.

Reading the look of disbelief in her eyes, Sasuke quickly secured a hand behind her head, to hold her in place. Before she took to the hills, he was going to pour out his heart to her. Afterwards, if she wanted to trample on his heart, he would let her. Honestly, he deserved no better than scorn. In the time they'd spent together as Team 7 he'd called her names, mocked her strength and constantly refused her warmth. Of course she wouldn't believe anything he had to say. Of course she didn't believe this was him—trust—it was him. He wasn't acting like his usual self. The boy from his youth would've brushed her off completely. But the man that he was now needed her. While in the past he would've thought this a weakness, he didn't care anymore.

He wanted her. Without her he was lost. A lost soul stranded at sea.

"I know I haven't given you reason to believe this to be true." He rushed on to say, his heart rattling against his ribcage as the look in her eyes grew distant. "But in the beginning, when thoughts of you kept me up at night I thought it was because you had everything I wanted: a warm family, love and security. When my heart contorted in pain at the thought of you, I was stupid to think I was envious of your bright laughter and your somewhat naïve perspective. I mistook feelings of love for envy. Because of my own lack of experience and emotional detachment, I was mean to you when what I truly wanted to do was keep you to myself. For so long, I ran from the truth. I thought I didn't need love. I thought I was protecting you." Again he rested his forehead against hers. He closed his eyes, to shield the desperate yearning from her curious gaze.

"Sakura, I—," He paused because saying those foreign words sounded so strange in his head.

"I love you." He let the words hang in the air before he took a deep breath.

"I like you. I want you. So much that I don't know what to do."

Sobs escaped her lips and Sasuke buried her face in his chest. He wrapped protective arms around her, all the while wishing this wasn't the last time he held her like this. Lost for words, he let her cry. When she didn't seem to quiet, he lifted her, without warning, and gently settled her on the bed.

Her bedroom was small. It was dark.

A body length mirror was propped up against the far right wall, stationed in front of a small window, the only window in the room. A big wooden armoire occupied much of the left wall. A little ways from the mirror sat a desk, pilled with numerous scrolls and medical books. The bed itself was also small. A thick and light blue coverlet tangled with white sheets. While the night was chilly, he didn't think she needed to sleep under so many layers for warmth.

Kneeling in front of her, he clasped her hands in his. He didn't know what to say, what to think, as he absorbed the nakedness of her bedroom's white walls. Needles pricked his eyes and he felt his heart shriveling as eternity seemed to pass and the tears continued to rain down her face. She fought a small scuffle to free her hands from his, but he did not allow it. He needed to touch her for as long as possible. So that if she asked him to leave her, he could at least take with him the memory of having held her hands.

_If only I told her sooner._ He told himself, knowing he'd been making a fool of himself by denying that he liked her. _Why did I have to be so darn stubborn?_

Even now he couldn't help feeling like what he was doing was stupid, simply making a spectacle of himself. His mind yelled at him to get back on his feet and walk away. He was Uchiha Sasuke and he did not bow before another's need.

_But these are my needs. However late I may have been in realizing I love her, this is something I truly want, to love her and have her look at me as she did in the past. _

Like her knight in shining armor.

He wanted to be that for her, he wanted to protect her. Giver her everything he hadn't in the past. He wanted a future with her. He knew he didn't deserve to have it so easy, but he wanted so much to be with her.

She was his better half and he'd been an idiot for not realizing it sooner. He'd called her weak for not having the physical strength required of a shinobi; he'd thought himself better than her in his stupid decision to not envy her, but all along, she been stronger. She had truth and a fierce and loyal heart. He only hoped that as a result of his cruelty, he hadn't shattered her valor. Anyone could gain strength, but that innate ability to love unconditionally and to never shy from the truth was something that wasn't acquired through hours of practice.

She was beautiful, both inside and out and he'd give his very breath to hear her say she loved him.

_Just once, _he thought as he gazed up at her.

He brought a hand to her face; with the back of his knuckles he caressed her cheeks. "Sakura, don't cry. I'll go if that's what you want." He glanced away. "I can also erase all traces that I was here, if that makes things easier for you."

His words stopped her from crying. Rubbing her eyes she gazed down at him, her eyes wide in even more disbelief. Before he had the chance to blink, she lunged into his arms. The force sent him sailing onto his back with Sakura sprawling on top of him.

"Don't go. Don't go," she said fervently, as she pushed herself onto her hands and knees to loom over him.

"I don't know what to make of any of this," she began, her voice catching in her throat. "But whatever it is, even if this is an illusion, don't go. I've waited for so long so just please don't go."

Boring his gaze into her sea foam green eyes he told her, "When I left I thought you'd be safe here. I thought nothing would harm you, that nothing would change your sweet innocence. But all along it was me destroying you with my cruel remarks." He lifted his hands and pinched a few strands of her pink hair in between his thumb and finger. Without much encouragement, she nestled her cheek into his hand.

"When I left, I wanted to tuck you away in a place only I knew of, where nothing and no one would harm you. I left because I wanted to protect you, to preserve your innocence. I thought that if I left, Itachi wouldn't destroy Konoha. I thought that if I joined Orochimaru I could lure the threat elsewhere, that I could gain the strength I needed to avenge my family. I was convinced that Itachi would seek me out, but for so many years he kept his distance. For all that time I spent away, I wanted to see you. Yet, at the same time I battled a war with myself, trying to convince myself that I didn't need love, that I didn't need you or anyone else. That what I felt for you at the time was only a weakness that would hinder my goals."

His hand drifted back down to his side. "You may think this is all an illusion, but I swear to you that it isn't. I'm here because I wanted to see you." He grit his teeth. "When you said another man's name the jealousy that burned through me threatened to shatter my senses. It may be pompous of me to expect you to wait for me after all this time, but just thinking that another man has touched you when I have not…I—I—I'm sorry." He said at last, sitting up to cradle Sakura in his arms.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He whispered repeatedly in her ears as she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tight. There was so much he wanted to ask forgiveness for, but even if he wasn't listening to his ego anymore, if he gave his reasons for asking for forgiveness now, he'd become less of a man by crying in front of her. Instead, he relished in the furious thundering of his heart which threatened to break free of his chest when Sakura slid her arms around his neck and embraced him as he did her. Softly, her fingers ran though his hair. She whispered in the crook of his neck that he didn't need to ask for forgiveness.

"We all make mistakes," she said, calming the fragile being within him that hid in the shadows of the darkness that bled through him. "There was just so much neither one of us understood back then. It's not your fault so please don't ask for my forgiveness, because there isn't anything to forgive."

A shuddering breath left his lungs. _Really, she is simply too kind. How could there not be anything to forgive after the way I treated her?_

Pulling from him slightly, Sakura searched his face for understanding. Sasuke hoped she could read the remorse that burned in his eyes. He didn't want to hurt her any more than he had. In fact, he wished he could bear all of his heart to her. He truly, from the bottom of his heart, regretted hurting her.

"But if you leave me a second time," she said, a smile brightened her features. "I'll hunt you to the end of the world and make you want me."

Sasuke stared at her. He searched her eyes for the truth, and all he saw was determination and the adoration he'd missed all these years. "This is too good to be true." He told her, his hands lifting to settle on either side of her face. Sakura placed her hands over his.

"Like a dream," she said. Rapidly, she blinked back the tears in her eyes and Sasuke felt a rumble of laughter bubble in his chest. Here was the woman he needed, the one he'd shun in his youth, smiling at him from ear to ear. Willing to accept his confession and have him in her life. For the first time he began to truly understand why she'd been so hesitant at the door. This really was like a dream, but he was more startled to realize just how easily a dream could turn into reality. All he needed to do was hold out his hands, secure his arms around her, and she was his.

Pulling her face closer to his, Sasuke kissed her lightly.

At first she stiffened and tried to shy away from the warmth of his breath.

"I love you," he said against her lips and she sank against him. He would be lying if he said the words spilled easily from his lips. Those three words alone made his insides trembled, and he hated to think it was out of fear.

Gently, Sasuke coaxed her mouth open. Because he kissed her at the front door, he was aware that sliding his tongue along the roof of her mouth made her knees grow weak. Exploiting such knowledge, he flicked his tongue against hers, before he ghosted his tongue against the roof of her mouth. The caress elicited a moan from her, granting him deeper leverage as he swiftly plunged his tongue into her mouth.

She tasted sweet, like honey, and the taste made his mind heady.

Without warning, the need to devour her was upon him. He'd wanted her, since the moment he caught sight of her strolling around the streets of Konoha. He'd wanted her even more when she opened the door and her lovely face peered up at him. The burning urge to hold her against him, flush and naked, singed his nerve endings.

_Have to have her._ He thought urgently as his hands fluttered down her arms. His strong fingers brushed against her ribcage, lingered along the underside of her breast, and moved along her back, to her shoulder blades. Further up his hands went, until one hand was gripping her around the neck.

His lips lifted from her briefly. He stared at Sakura for all of three seconds before he swopped down once more. His wicked kiss disarming any resistance from her.

Sakura made soft mewling sounds as his tongued graced against hers. She didn't fight his hands when again they began to roam her person, to press her intimately against his growing erection.

"Feel me." He said against the corner of her mouth, his tongue darting out to taste her there. "All of me." Taking one of her hands, he brought it to his chest, asking her to sink soft hands into the heat of his hard chest.

Obligingly, she raked her finger nails against hard muscles. The caress made them both groan. Spurred by his invitation, she circled an arm around his neck and pressed her mouth firmly against his, hoping to devour him in the same way he did her. Her other hand traveled down his chest. Her wrist bumped against his erection when she reached the hem of his shirt to let her hand disappeared underneath the material of his black shirt. Digging his fingers into her back, Sasuke did his hardest to not grind himself against her or growl in satisfaction as her palm seared against the corded muscles of his abdomen. Deftly, her nimble fingers caressed up his chest, tracing every hard and smooth plane and memorizing his scars with her touch alone.

Dropping his head into the crook of her neck, Sasuke inhaled her feminine scent. He hadn't expected her to smell of lavender. Cherries and strawberries were scents he'd always equated with her. But still, she smelled heavenly.

_Like home._

Running his lips against the underside of her jaw, he slipped his hands into the partings of her skirt. Kneading her ass, he pressed her more intimately against him.

Without reservation she locked her legs around him and offered him her neck when his lips kissed along her jawline. Accepting her offering, he kissed a trail down her throat.

Blinded by his desires, he softly bit and licked his way to her shoulder. With his free hand he held around her ribcage, his thumb rubbing back and forth against the underside of her breast. When she pressed herself against him, he circled a hand around her breast and gloried in her moan and her nipples that hardened in his palm. Rubbing the bud with his thumb to a hardened peak, he used his teeth to graze the fluttering of her pulse at the base of her throat. Again, she moaned softly and her nails bit into his back.

Sasuke peered at her. At the flush, that tinted her beautiful face and her lips swollen from his kisses. The breath sawed in and out of her, and her nipples strained against the material of her white shirt. Her legs felt like velvet wrapped around the hard steel of his body. And her core, positioned over his hard length, burned against his sensitive member.

Moment of clarity vanished as soon as Sakura dropped her head forward. She stared at him, like a seductress hell-bent on staking her claim. Her tongue darted out to lick her lips before she brought her face to his, the determination to kiss him once more radiating in her eyes.

"I'll always love you," she spoke softly against his lips, lone tears sliding down her face as she peered up at him.

"Forever and always," Sasuke said, tears of his own mirroring the look of hope in her eyes. Bringing her left hand to his lips, he kissed her ring finger. A silent promise that she was his for the short eternity they had on earth, a promise that he would cherish and love her with all of his being.

_Forever and always,_ he thought once more as he settled his lips over hers.

Sakura giggled and he was helpless against her contagious laugh.

†End.


End file.
